Aggies’ Ratley is no longer an armchair WR

Texas A&M wide receiver Damion Ratley races to the end zone for a touchdown against Louisiana-Lafayette during the first quarter on Sept. 16, 2017, in College Station.

Texas A&M wide receiver Damion Ratley races to the end zone for a touchdown against Louisiana-Lafayette during the first quarter on Sept. 16, 2017, in College Station.

Photo: Sam Craft /Associated Press

Image 2 of 5

Damion Ratley (4) of Texas A&M catches a pass as he beats Alabama’s Ronnie Clark (5) and Levi Wallace (39) in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field on Oct. 7, 2017 in College Station.

Damion Ratley (4) of Texas A&M catches a pass as he beats Alabama’s Ronnie Clark (5) and Levi Wallace (39) in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field on Oct. 7, 2017 in College Station.

Photo: Bob Levey /Getty Images

Image 3 of 5

Damion Ratley of Texas A&M runs after a reception against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Kyle Field on Oct. 7, 2017 in College Station.

Damion Ratley of Texas A&M runs after a reception against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Kyle Field on Oct. 7, 2017 in College Station.

Photo: Bob Levey /Getty Images

Image 4 of 5

Damion Ratley of Texas A&M is tackled by South Carolina’s Chris Lammons (3) at Kyle Field on Sept. 30, 2017 in College Station.

Damion Ratley of Texas A&M is tackled by South Carolina’s Chris Lammons (3) at Kyle Field on Sept. 30, 2017 in College Station.

Photo: Bob Levey /Getty Images

Image 5 of 5

Texas A&M wide receiver Damion Ratley (4) catches a pass over Louisiana-Lafayette defensive back Lorenzo Cryer (11) during the first quarter on Sept. 16, 2017, in College Station.

Texas A&M wide receiver Damion Ratley (4) catches a pass over Louisiana-Lafayette defensive back Lorenzo Cryer (11) during the first quarter on Sept. 16, 2017, in College Station.

Photo: Sam Craft /Associated Press

Aggies’ Ratley is no longer an armchair WR

1 / 5

Back to Gallery

COLLEGE STATION — Four years ago, a Blinn College student who attended classes at the Bryan campus couldn’t finagle a ticket to the Alabama-Texas A&M game at Kyle Field. So Damion Ratley watched the showdown between the Crimson Tide and Aggies from his couch in College Station a couple of miles from Kyle Field.

Express Newsletters

Get the latest news, sports and food features sent directly to your inbox.

Colleges

Ratley climbed off the couch that fall of 2013 and placed a call to the original Blinn in Brenham — the one with a nationally known junior college football program.

“I had gone to a tryout that (previous) summer at Blinn, and I made the team but I ended up not going because I just didn’t want to play football anymore,” Ratley said. “I wasn’t feeling it at the time. But I called them (again), they remembered me, and luckily they gave me a fighting chance.”

That fighting chance led to Brenham and then back to College Station after an outstanding 2014 season with the Buccaneers. When Ratley stood on Kyle Field on a recruiting visit that fall, then A&M-receivers coach David Beaty asked him, “How does it feel being here?”

Ratley smiled and replied, “Oh, I’ve been here before. I was sitting right up there in the stands last year.”

He had attended A&M games as a fan in 2013 — just not the hard-to-find-a-ticket Alabama showdown. This year, the now-22-year-old senior found himself making plays against Alabama on Kyle Field, highlighted by his impressive grab for 32 yards on a fourth-and-9 against the Crimson Tide late in the third quarter last Saturday.

His catch led to a 2-yard touchdown pass from Kellen Mond to Christian Kirk, helping keep the Aggies in an eventual 27-19 loss to top-ranked Alabama.

“Football is fun, and being out there is fun,” Ratley said. “I’m blessed to be able to do this. A lot of kids can’t do it, and a lot of kids want to do it.”

When Ratley left his living room for the Blinn locker room four years ago, less than a year later he was en route to more than 1,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns as an honorable mention junior college All-American, with current A&M backup quarterback Jake Hubenak tossing the passes at Blinn.

Although Ratley had zero Division I scholarship offers out of Yoakum High, A&M coach Kevin Sumlin chose to pursue Ratley (6-3, 195) during that lone season at Blinn based on his blazing speed. Ratley arrived in the winter of 2015 and promptly saw action in that year’s opener in NRG Stadium after impressive spring and summer camps.

“I go back to that first deep pass thrown to him against Arizona State,” Sumlin recalled. “He ran right by everybody, and it hit him right in the hands.”

He failed to hang on to the long heave, and Sumlin noted that Ratley “struggled a little bit” with drops that season. But he has grown into one of the Aggies’ most dependable and electric catchers. His 228 receiving yards (on 10 catches) is second only to star Christian Kirk’s 316 yards (on 27 catches), and Ratley leads the Aggies with 22.8 yards per catch.

“He’s an example of what real confidence and maturity does for you,” Sumlin said. “He’s made at least one big play in the last four games. … He’s confident, and he should be at this point because he’s the oldest guy out there. We need him to continue to be that guy, and to continue to makes big plays for us, which he’s done.”

Sumlin’s pointed to Ratley’s blocking ability as key to the offense’s success, as the Aggies (4-2, 2-1) prepare to play at Florida on Saturday night. So instead of watching with his buddies in College Station, Ratley will be running routes and happily blocking for his teammates at “The Swamp.”

“This means a lot to me,” the former armchair receiver said. “We know what we can do, we know what we need to do, and we know how to do it. We just have to get it done.”